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Downtown Seymour.
SEYMOUR — Could new signs and parking meters shake free some parking spots in downtown Seymour?
Both ideas were discussed Tuesday at the monthly meeting of the town’s Economic Development Commission (EDC).
The quaint downtown area — Bank Street, Columbus Street, First Street, Main Street, Wakely Street — has a nice collection of antiques, government facilities, and eateries, along with offices, apartments, and the venerable Strand Theater.
But parking directly in front of the store you want to visit can be tricky, something Christopher Bowen, a member of the EDC, said he hears from merchants a lot. The situation has become tougher in the last year or so after 117 Main St. was sold and a new business moved in, Bowen said. The public had been using the building’s parking spaces when the place was vacant.
At the same time, there are three public lots in the area — one on Wakely, one near the Strand, and one across from the former Trestle Tavern
“The problem is people seem to want parking close to the business they are going into,” Bowen said.
The theory is that modern parking meters — perhaps the kind that accept debit or credit cards — would recycle parking spaces for merchants, and prevent people from taking up a space all day. The downtown previously had parking meters, Bowen pointed out.
“It could make it more fair for everybody. That way we would know that the people parking there are there because they’re doing business in downtown,” Bowen said. “We’re not looking for income. There are issues, and we’ve heard from business owners that there’s a major parking issue.”
Bowen stressed the discussion Tuesday was just that — a discussion. It remains to be seen if the idea will turn into action.
“Right now it’s just talk. There’s nothing even close to concrete,” he said.
Bowen said he reached out to a private company for a demonstration and how much it would cost, but he has yet to hear back.
Additional signs, Bowen said, might be a more doable initiative. The signs could simply point motorists to the free municipal lots.
“I’d say the signs are the first priority because it’s the easiest,” Bowen said. “Downtown is walkable, but we could do a better job of advertising that, and that’s something we’ve discussed with CERC.”
CERC is the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, a state organization that was hired earlier this year to handle economic development duties in Seymour.
Tuesday’s agenda specifically called for the discussion of a downtown parking study. But, after the meeting, Bowen said the commission felt the study was a lesser priority than signage or meters.
“The study would basically be a look at looking at how many people park downtown over a period of time, and how many people are parking during peak times such as First Saturday,” Bowen said.
A report issued in 2012 indicated the lack of parking in Seymour was more perception than reality. The report pointed out downtown Seymour had 126 on-street parking spaces, 160 off-street parking spaces, and about 300 private spaces.
“While this ratio is lower than may be typical of a suburban retail or office setting, it is not an unreasonable number for a downtown area,” the report stated.
It suggested that the town, if officials desired, talk to Metro-North about building a three-story parking garage next to the train station that could provide another 100 parking spaces.
Read the 2012 report here.
Bowen said the 2012 report is a bit old by now, and that it might be time to take another inventory.
“I’d like numbers, to see if what we really have is a perception problem,” Bowen said.
He might not get to see them as a member of the EDC, though. Bowen, a Democrat, is running for an open seat on the Seymour Board of Selectmen. There are an equal number of candidates for open seats, so he’ll be elected.